Why are male UF protagonists badass and female protagonists… not?
I have been noticing this for a while. Although we have all these ‘strong female protagonists’ in urban fantasy – to the level that an author friend of mine said… Read more »
Tag: plot
What makes a good story?
I spend more time reading than I probably should. There are many other things I ought to be doing: laundry, ironing, writing… I console myself with the thought that somebody-or-other… Read more »
Review: Burned, by Benedict Jacka
Burned by Benedict Jacka My rating: 3 of 5 stars Once again, Alex Verus is up against it. He’s been sentenced to death, and has only a week in which… Read more »
Setting up the kill
Sometimes, it has to be admitted, a character’s only reason to be in the book at all is to die; their death is the event that pushes the protagonist into… Read more »
Oh, Author, what have you done to me?
Recently, I read the latest book in a series, and it left me feeling… betrayed. It’s as if you’d been using toilet paper all your life and enjoyed watching the… Read more »
The Ordinary Hero
This week, I read four books from two different series, both of which featured what I’ll call an ‘ordinary heroine’ – that is, someone who doesn’t use kick-ass powers, but… Read more »
We Need Diverse Books…
I came across the “We Need Diverse Books” campaign recently. Two thoughts sprang to mind: I really hate this use of the word “diverse”. Hate it hate it hate it. This is… Read more »
Feedback: Bad is the new Good
Today, I had a short but thought-provoking conversation with a colleague. I forget how we got onto the subject, but he told me that his wife was keen on watching… Read more »
Authors I admire: Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher is one of my favourite authors. Nobody is going to accuse him of writing great literature, but his books are damn good fun. However, what I admire most… Read more »
Who’s your audience?
I subscribe to the Writer’s Digest free emails (I don’t actually pay for stuff – how much money do you think I have?). Sometimes, I read it and think “What,… Read more »